BRACEBRIDGE, ON – A local marina owner is publicly blaming the town of Bracebridge for possibly having to close at the end of the month.
Spirit Bay Harbour Marina, formerly known as Indianhead Harbour, was in the midst of renovations and upgrades earlier this spring.
But stop-work orders have been issued by the town as some permits and plans were not submitted on time. A variance request is also before a committee that could put an already installed deck at risk.
The new owner of the marina, Clayton Smith, put a sign up at the front entrance to the facility, telling people who use it that it may stop operating as of June 30th, posting the Town of Bracebridge’s phone number if people had inquiries.
Closing Notice – Effective June 30, 2019
[one_half]We regret to inform you that as a result of a Health, Safety, Liability and the Municipality Stop Work Order issued by the municipality, that effective June 30, 2019 the Marina and garbage disposal will be closed until further notice.[/one_half]
[one_half_last]We apologize for this inconvenience and recommend during this 30-day notice period that you contact your local municipal Planning Office, Councillor or Mayor to find alternative slip, dock, ramp, fuel or waste disposal services.[/one_half_last]
It goes on to say that all pre-paid services will be reimbursed at the marina’s earliest convenience. It then thanks people for their patronage and ends with a statement that “it will reopen when ownership feels appropriate.”
“Nothing the Town of Bracebridge has done would necessitate that,” said Mayor Graydon Smith. “While our phone number is at the bottom (of the sign) if people have questions about that they should be speaking to the owners of the project.”
Staff at the Marina provided contact details for Clayton Smith, but MyMuskokaNow.com has been unsuccessful in getting a comment from him.
The Director for planning and development Cheryl Kelley said procedures for such projects are in place and need to be followed. In the instance of the Spirit Bay project, this has not happened.
She said the whole thing began as a result of a complaint from the public.
“As a public entity when we receive a complaint we are required to go investigate it,” she explained.
“At the time we discovered that some works had been undertaken. We knew there was some work on the water that was being undertaken and we knew there were no permits taken with the (Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry) with regards to working on the water.
“We spoke to the contractors and it was our understanding that they had stopped work and there was work inside a building and we also thought work had stopped.”
Kelley says representatives from the town met with Smith on May 16th.
“We outlined for him our regulatory requirements with respect to the building code and this property is subject to site planning control so we needed to understand what the ultimate plans are so we could figure out whether or not it complies with the town’s comprehensive zoning by-law to see what sort of applications would be required under the planning act.”
Kelley said she has no idea what the ultimate outcome will be, but the town has a responsibility to uphold provincial laws.
“The town is charged and required to undertake these inspections and make sure the plan and the work is done under the code,” she said.
The property has seen some neglect over the years and Smith has many supporters in the form of seasonal residents who rely on the boat slips for access to the water. They are championing his cause online, but the town maintains that if the work is done through the proper channels there should be no issues.